The 2012 UEFA European Championship - Poland/Ukraine - The Thread!

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Spain is very beatable. If Ronaldo shows up for the semis I like Portugal's chances. Not a convincing win. Lots of possession but did very little with it.

Ribery was great out there, Benzema was not.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

Fabregas clipped his own heels, then the defender ran into him.

As for this one, yeah probably a foul. But not with the standard set by the ref thus far

Watch it again. Both ball watching and Clichy runs straight into the back of him and clips him.

Agreed on the 2nd point. I think after he blew the first call he had to let more things go or otherwise look inconsistant. Then he can't really turn down two calls. IMO the Fabregas incident was more of a clear penalty.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Watch it again. Both ball watching and Clichy runs straight into the back of him and clips him.

Agreed on the 2nd point. I think after he blew the first call he had to let more things go or otherwise be inconsistant then he can't really turn down too calls. IMO the Fabregas incident was more of a clear penalty.

I've watched it a few times and the way i'm seeing it is it's good, little contact up until Fabregas clips himself and then the defender runs through him.

Either way Spain deserved the win, but 2-0 I think flatters them in this game. France had a couple chances that they couldn't convert

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

Spain is very beatable. If Ronaldo shows up for the semis I like Portugal's chances. Not a convincing win. Lots of possession but did very little with it.

Ribery was great out there, Benzema was not.

Spain have been almost impossible to score on, plus they are right at the top for goals scored in the tournament. How does that make them look very beatable? Portugal will need an immense game from Ronaldo to have a chance. Its possible for Portugal, but Spain are clear favorites right now for going to the final.

[d_phaneuf]

remember when Rafa wanted to replace Xabi Alonso with Gareth Barry...

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

I've watched it a few times and the way i'm seeing it is it's good, little contact up until Fabregas clips himself and then the defender runs through him.

Before he clips himself .... Clichy clips him with his left knee to right foot resulting in said self clip.

Anyways ..... another game where Spain's opponents knew what they were up against and could do very little about it.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

Spain have been almost impossible to score on, plus they are right at the top for goals scored in the tournament. How does that make them look very beatable? Portugal will need an immense game from Ronaldo to have a chance. Its possible for Portugal, but Spain are clear favorites right now for going to the final.

Scoring 4 against Ireland is nice but today they really looked to miss any sort of killer instinct. They only had 3or 4 chances of any consequence.

They've defended well but they looked weak on the flanks today. France was able to get some good pressure down the sides.

I don't think this is the Spain team that we have been accustomed to seeing. Maybe saying very beatable is a bit much but I think they're more beatable than previous years. Not much has been shown in the tournament so far to make me think otherwise. Just goes to show you how good they are to still be considered favorites without playing close to a level we've seen from them before.

Edit: Obviously missing David Villa is huge for them but I don't think that is the main reason I am thinking they don't look the same

[d_phaneuf]

I would like to know how many more forward passes Spain have compared to other teams, 700 passes looks great but I would say at least 300 of those are backwards

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

I would like to know how many more forward passes Spain have compared to other teams, 700 passes looks great but I would say at least 300 of those are backwards

Half way down gives the stats for pass length and orientation for the Italy game. The beeb hasn't done it since.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18180099

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

Scoring 4 against Ireland is nice but today they really looked to miss any sort of killer instinct. They only had 3or 4 chances of any consequence.

They've defended well but they looked weak on the flanks today. France was able to get some good pressure down the sides.

I don't think this is the Spain team that we have been accustomed to seeing. Maybe saying very beatable is a bit much but I think they're more beatable than previous years. Not much has been shown in the tournament so far to make me think otherwise. Just goes to show you how good they are to still be considered favorites without playing close to a level we've seen from them before.

Edit: Obviously missing David Villa is huge for them but I don't think that is the main reason I am thinking they don't look the same

IMO Puyol being injured is the biggest problem. If Puyol was in then Ramos would have been playing RB all day against Ribery. Not having an in-form striker is obviously a problem too. I agree, they are not as good as they have been the last few years, but when you give up one goal in 4 games you are pretty tough to beat.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Half way down gives the stats for pass length and orientation for the Italy game. The beeb hasn't done it since.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18180099

thanks

kind of gives some credence to it

Spain had 354 more passes but only 57 more forward

[vennegoor of hesselink]

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Looking forward to the Real Madrid intra squad game on Wednesday.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by vennegoor of hesselink

Fabregas went down easily there. Whining now. Still a little Arsenal left in him

No Arsenal there at all - looked like a Stevie G starfish.

[d_phaneuf]

the leg kick as he went down was all Ashley Young

[SebC]

Spain scored on a cross, met with a header.



===========

Originally Posted by North East Goon

Schweinsteiger the beast keeps rolling, seriously that guy is a treat to watch.

And he has a hilarious name!

[Barnet Flame]

[cam_wmh]

Nasri is still being a lil punk.

"Go ###### yourself", "Son of a b***h" and "I ######ed your mother" were the most notable words to come from his mouth. He also suggested that he and the journalist go outside to settle their differences with a fist fight. Out of curiosity, I'd like to see who would have won.

http://www.goal.com/en-ca/news/4185/...his-loyalty-to

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Not good news for Germany. Schweinsteiger is worried about his ankle

http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/news/newsid=1832597.html

[NBC]

I love how Roy has got the entire side singing the anthem. Love it.